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Age of Wushu

Age of Wushu is a free-to-play3Dmartial arts action MMORPG, developed by Chinese company Snail. The game revolves around the Wuxia-inspired lore surrounding martial arts and adventures in Ming Dynasty China. The European version, Age of Wulin, which had been published by Webzen, closed in July 2017, with players being given the option of transferring to a new European server established as part of Age of Wushu, the version of the game published by Snail USA.

Contents

Players initially select one of eight factions, and then develop their characters, learn new skills, and engage in PvE and PvP content. The game does not feature a class system, but allows players to join one of 8 player factions, or Schools: Shaolin, Wudang, Emei, Beggars' Sect, Tang Clan, Scholar's Academy, Royal Guard and Wanderer's Valley.[1] The only restricted skills are the internal skills of each school. This means if a player leaves their faction, or school, the player loses the ability to use that school's internal skill.

Quests and many other activities, including gathering, crafting and combat, give experience points which are converted into "cultivation" points used to upgrade fighting skills. Elements of the game include solo and party dungeons, an equipment system, crafting and professions, a housing system, and mounts. The attributes of Chivalry and Guilt determine the player's reputation and alignment in the Jianghu System.

The in-game combat contains actual martial arts as well as super-human abilities and elements from Chinese legendary stories such as depicted in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.[2][3] There are no classes or level restrictions. Instead the game uses a skill-based system in which the player has to learn new abilities and talents in order to progress. Combat depends on skill proficiency rather than any assigned numerical value.

There are three types of skills, akin to the Rock-paper-scissors game: Overt (damage skills), Feint (defense-breaking skills), and Block (blocks incoming damage). There are also assorted skills outside of these categories. Utilizing skills consumes Energy, the equivalent of a Mana pool.

Shaolin: are a righteous sect. Shaolin skills focus on close range attacks which inflict more damage and provide better defence. They have excellent area of effect skills, which makes them valuable in any groups or instances. Their principal weapon is the staff and they can use their empty-hand skills to launch powerful attacks.

Emei: are a righteous sect. They have strong defence capabilities and endurance during combat and abilities which heal and reduce incoming damage which also helps party members, however their advanced attack skills are less developed. Daggers and Twin Spikes are most commonly used by Emei disciples. They are highly regarded by the women of the sect on account of their light weight and agility.

Wudang: are a righteous sect. They are skilled in sword-based styles, assisting with recovery, and helping other team members. Wudang have a variety of skills that focus on damage, support, crowd control, and damage mitigation. Having an ability that can restore energy also makes the Wudang very self-sufficient fighters. They tend to prefer the use of single or twin swords and are also known for exceptional skill in hand-to-hand combat.

Beggars' Sect: are a righteous sect. Their moves inflict a great deal of damage but their defense is of less concern. They do however have excellent control skills. Their true strength lies in their drunken moves, these rugged fighters can execute special skills in a drunken state to instigate high damage output. The Short Staff is the Beggar weapon of choice, they have also been known to practice in empty hand routines, proving their lack of reliance on weaponry.

Scholar's Academy: are a neutral sect. The disciples of the sect are skilled swordsmen, utilising both single and twin sword techniques. They are infamous throughout the Jianghu for their great leg skill that deliver steady control and immense damage. Scholars are flexible fighters and can do a mix of DPS and support. They can increase their movement speed to chase after fleeing enemies, or to flee from an overburdening battle. Their main damage comes from internal strength.

Tang Clan: are a neutral sect. Tang special skills focus on controlling others, delivery deadly poisons and powerful stuns. The speciality of Tang lies in their ranged attacks. If you are not quick enough and cannot endure their darts from afar, they can whittle down the health of their enemies while on the move before so much as entering standard combat range. Their poisons are very effective and can penetrate strong defences. They prefer to use the dagger and the hidden weapons, such as darts, Throwing Daggers but are not suitable for close-range combat.

Royal Guards: are an evil sect. They have many special skills that can increase attack to inflict great damage. They cultivate dark yin energy, forging steel-like bodies impervious to harm. However, their cooldown period is relatively long, with more usage limitations. They can steal health from enemies, and have a signature move that pulls distant enemies to their location for a follow up beating. Royal Guards wield the sabre like no other and use their unique Claw to pull their enemies closer and tear them to shreds.

Wanderer's Valley: are an evil sect. They can immerse their enemies in a poison cloud, then shred them to pieces with their unique weaponry. Some skills even cause damage to the user. They are known for their high attack damage and life steal abilities. They also have a variety of debuffs they can apply to enemies. They prefer to use the Twin Sabre for its strong and direct power and are also skilled in the Twin Spikes, as well as deadly empty-hand techniques.[4]

The original Chinese version, named 九阴真经 (pinyin: Jiǔyīn Zhēnjīng; literally: "Nine Scroll Manual") began beta testing in 2009 and was commercially launched in 2012. Over the next few years, the game was launched in more regions with different names: North America (Age of Wushu), Europe (Age of Wulin), Russia (Legends of Kung Fu), Thailand (9Yin) and South-East Asia (Age Of Kung Fu).

On 6 January 2016, the mobile version Age of Wushu Dynasty was launched for both iOS and Android.[5]